If you’ve been looking for new, inexpensive ways to promote your business, content marketing might be just right for you.
Put simply, content marketing is creating written or visual content related to your business’ field of expertise for your website and social media accounts. It can be in the form of blog posts, web pages, photos, graphics, videos and more, and talk about everything from the services you offer to handy tips and tricks, frequently asked questions, common problems, holiday wishes, and even comics, memes, or jokes.
But why is content like this important, and how does it help your business?
#1: Relevant Content Brings More People to Your Website
When people search for a business or service like yours, there’s often a small set of keywords they use to find what they’re looking for. For example, if you’re a contractor, they may search for “local builder Sarasota,” “contractor near Venice Florida,” or something similar. When making a website, you add these key words to your website so search engines like Google can match you to their search. But there are only so many key words people use in direct searches, so your key word list can be limited.
That’s where content marketing comes in! When you create content that’s related to your business (like blog posts discussing common questions customers have), it adds a whole slew of related keywords to your website or social media. That means you drastically increase the number of words that Google can pick up on and use to direct people to your website. So, say you’re a gutter company and write a post about how often people should clean their gutters. When someone searches this on Google, your blog post will pop up in the results and lead them to your website. The more content you make, the more searches you’ll pop up in, and the more people will see your website. Creating content regularly also helps you rank higher in search engine results.
But be careful! Do not stuff your content with keywords. As tempting as it is to pack in 50 keywords or repeat a single word 20 times to increase visibility, it’s not worth it. This is known as keyword stuffing, which is considered unethical and can get you marked as spam by search engines. If this happens, then no one will be able to find your website. So don’t stuff! But also don’t worry about doing it accidentally. As long as you write naturally and use only a few related keywords, you won’t run into any problems, and the search engines will keep sending new potential customers your way.
#2 Quality Content Establishes Credibility and Trust
Before choosing any company or service, we all want to know if they’re trustworthy and know what they’re doing. Uploading quality content to your website and social media is a great way to show off your technical knowledge and prove your expertise to your potential customers.
Do this by writing blog posts, short social media posts or creating graphics that discuss the finer details and issues of your field of expertise. For example, giving advice about when to do maintenance or how to choose products, answering common questions, or offering solutions to problems customers often have. A good amount of varied content shows customers that you can answer their questions and are a knowledgeable, professional business.
You can also establish trust by uploading customer testimonials. Have you ever looked up reviews for a service or company before doing business with them? You can guarantee that your potential customers do the same. There’s something incredibly reassuring about knowing someone else has tested out a service before you and had great results. Intersperse your regular content with occasional reviews to demonstrate the trustworthiness and quality of your company to help hook new potential customers.
#3 Regular Content Keeps Customers Engaged and Coming Back
Once a customer chooses to do business with you, your next goal is to make them a repeat customer. Helpful, informative content, like we discussed above, helps establish trust with customers, and posting it regularly establishes you as a recognized and reliable source of good information, which helps keep people coming back.
Say you’re an AC repair company and you post a lot of content about common AC unit problems – what to look out for, quick fixes and when things are serious enough to call a technician. If a homeowner experiencing that problem finds your content helpful, they’ll likely remember it and come back for other answers in the future. And if they have a problem they can’t fix themselves, they’ll call you.
Posting entertaining and funny content on social media is also a great way to connect with customers and keep them coming back. Being able to laugh and make jokes shows the more relatable, down to earth, and accessible side of your business. Also, giving someone a good laugh is a positive experience that will stand out in their mind and tie them back to you.
If you’re an auto mechanic and post a funny meme about how it feels to go over a huge pothole you couldn’t avoid, it helps them connect with you and shows that you understand and empathize with some of the same problems they face all the time. If they enjoy your jokes, they may consider following you and will be reminded of your business when they see your posts. They may also share funny content with friends online or in person and introduce more potential customers to your business.
No matter which way you look at it, content marking is a great tool for helping grow your business. It can be especially important for smaller business who don’t necessarily have the funds for larger, more expensive marketing endeavors, and help them get more noticed. If you think you’d like to get started with content marketing for your business but don’t know if you have the time, give us a call! We can help create content for you at a price that won’t break the bank.